


The Parapets

by Frumpologist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, immediately post-war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 08:55:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19422688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frumpologist/pseuds/Frumpologist
Summary: Luna and Draco both seek out the privacy of the parapets after the final battle.





	The Parapets

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for Wrackspurts & Nargles FB Group’s New Beginnings Drabble Challenge. My beta and alpha will remain anonymous for now, but I owe them all the thanks in the world for their invaluable help!

There’s something about the castle grounds laid bare ahead of her that sparks warmth in Luna’s chest. It’s alive and breathes in the smoke and ash of the war-torn school. A light breeze zips through the treetops like an exhale, a sigh of relief. The stars blink overhead and the moon watches the exhausted army drag itself into the castle. 

Luna stands at the parapets. Her hair glows golden under the moonlight and whips around her shoulders as the wind from the forest reaches her. Her fingers curl against the stone. She ignores the raw, bloody feel of her palms against the caked ash. The castle is broken, but perhaps they all are a little broken now.

Someone joins her as she stares over the grounds. She welcomes the break in her solitude and turns her chin in their direction. She’s not shocked to find him here; Draco has always sought the privacy of the parapets. He pauses for a moment and she turns her gaze back to the forest. He chooses to stay and stands close by without saying a word. 

“Your mum and dad will be looking for you.” Luna tests the atmosphere as a cloud covers the moon. She considers casting a  _ Lumos _ , but decides she quite likes the comfort of darkness.

“They’re not.” He barely opens his mouth to answer. 

Luna smiles. He’ll never know how loved he is, not really. Draco is so determined to remain broken that he refuses to see those who hold him together. 

“I saw what you did.” She finally turns to look at him again, adjusting her stance so that her hip rests against the parapet. “I know that you saved me.”

“Why would that shock you?” He doesn’t look at her. His eyes stare over the grounds. Posture strict, lips in a severe line. “I will always save you.”

“You won’t have to now,” Luna says as a matter of fact. Her eyes widen as his sharp jaw turns to her. “It’s over — we won, Draco.”

“ _ You _ won,” he reminds her harshly. His fingers dig into the dirty castle wall. “I’ll end up in Azkaban for what I’ve done.”

“I’ll fight for you.” She reaches forward, but her hand drops to her side at the last second. She watches his jaw tick and his throat swallow and she knows he doesn’t welcome her touch. “I’ll—”

“You’ll stay out of it.” Draco’s voice is low and sad. It reminds her of the way the castle grounds breathe after the fight. “I don’t need you to fight for me. You’ve been through enough.”

“You don’t get to choose.” Her words leave her in a single breath. This time, she doesn’t hesitate to touch him. Her bloody palm finds his heartbeat and stays despite the way he stiffens at her touch. “I can be here for you just like I was here for you when they killed Professor Bur—”

“Stop, Luna.” His hand wraps around hers, but he doesn’t pull it away from his rising heartbeat. “Please, stop. I can’t — I’m not good. I’m not worth fighting for.”

It’s instinct when her body moves forward. There’s enough space for a wrackspurt between them. He’s taller and broader than she is, but there’s no trace of fear in her wide, doe eyes. He blinks and tries to dislodge the knot in his throat. 

“You don’t get to decide that,” she tells him earnestly with her chin tilted up to catch his eyes. “I was there after Harry sliced you open and I was there while Voldemort lived in your house, and I’ll be here to pick up all your broken pieces, too.”

“Luna…” his breath fans against her face and she thinks it’s interesting that the moon appears from behind the clouds at the same time. It catches his grey eyes and the shadows beneath them. 

“Let me be here for you,” she presses on, encroaching further in his space so that her curves fit against his edges. “We don’t have to live in the war forever.”

“You’ll be an outcast.” His free hand rises up and tucks a chunk of hair behind her ear. Long, slender fingers trace the outline of her jaw.

She laughs, a breathless thing that makes his lips twitch at the corners. “I’ve been an outcast since Year One. I don’t care what people think.”

The moment sobers. His eyes dart from her eyes to her lips and back again. One of them releases a sharp breath — it’s been so long,  _ so _ long since she’s felt the pillowy crash of his lips on hers and the relentless tangle of his fingers in her hair. Ages have passed since they’ve been skin to skin.

Luna closes her eyes. She swears she can hear the grounds shudder at the same moment that Draco’s lips find hers. Her heart stops. Her hand curls into his jumper. For several seconds, neither of them move. He pulls away and stares into her eyes until her hands run the length of his chest and wind into the hair at the  nape of his neck. She takes a deep breath and then she steps forward. His back hits the hard ramparts just as Luna’s toes scream at the weight she places on them.

They’re wrapped up in one another for an undefinable amount of time. Draco’s deepening the kiss and pulling her close and breathing sharply through his nose. When he’s got her turned around and facing the grounds again, fireworks light up the sky. They whiz around and create various shapes in a rainbow of color. Her skirts are lifted around her hips and Draco is sheathed inside of her so quickly that her head spins. 

When they’re spent, curled around one another, exhausted, sore, and breathless, Luna tucks her head into Draco’s shoulder and smiles.

“This is our chance to start again, Draco.” 

He kisses the top of her head. “You are an infuriating witch.”


End file.
